


More Than He Deserves

by puppyfacedbrokenboys



Category: Glee
Genre: Angst with a Happy Ending, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, F/M, Panic Attacks, mentions of bree and cheating
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-06-22
Updated: 2015-06-22
Packaged: 2018-04-05 16:24:33
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,122
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4186701
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/puppyfacedbrokenboys/pseuds/puppyfacedbrokenboys
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Marley and Jake have grown up individually, and now find themselves in college and together again. They're good, Marley is happy. But sometimes the past has a way of creeping back up on you when you least except it to. She panics, but Jake is there to help her out.</p>
            </blockquote>





	More Than He Deserves

**Author's Note:**

> Anon prompt: imagine marley going to jake’s dance classes in the future and seeing jake dancing with all these pretty dancer girls and she feels jealous but when he catches on he tells her that she’s the only one for him and she has nothing to be jealous of d'awww

It took time – a lot of time – and a lot apologizing and crying and growing up, but now Marley felt she and Jake were in a good place again.

They were both seniors in college and getting ready for their final showcases. Jake knows he will never make up for what he did, and he doesn’t expect Marley to ever forget it either. But Marley has thought it over, time and time again. She used to blame herself – but now she knows she did nothing wrong. That Jake made a stupid decision, and broke their trust, and he didn’t expect anything from her. He just wanted her to know how desperately he regrets it and how stupid he was, how much he hates himself for what he did. And really, Marley’s a realistic person. She knows they were both young, stupid teenagers that were moving way too fast for either to keep up. If it wasn’t what Jake did, it would have been something else.

They were good together, there was no doubt. But they were racing towards forever when neither even knew what their future would bring individually, let alone together. Some would call Marley stupid for growing to trust Jake again, but she had through years of just being friends. No matter what, they were always drawn back together. That had to mean something, right?

But that didn’t mean that there weren’t times where the icy cold doubt crept into Marley’s head, and a heat rose in her chest with a flare of jealousy. She knows Jake is a better person now – calmer, comfortable in his own skin. At peace with his demons. But watching him dance with his fellow female dancers as he practiced for his showcase, she couldn’t help but flash back to seeing Jake’s hands on the hips of Bree in her Cheerios uniform, grinding her body back into his.

Marley’s chest tightened to the point it hurt to breathe. Her vision became fuzzy, and she had an overwhelming urge to run before the room closed in on her.

So she listened. The room blurred past her as she ran towards the door. Her shoulder collided with a thud as she pushed the door open, but the adrenaline rushing through her veins numbed her to the impact.

She ran and ran. Ran until she was outside and the sun was blinding in her eyes as the hot air from outside rushed up to meet her. And then, now away from the room, she took in a breath, and another. Too fast. She breathed until she was hyperventilating and didn’t stop until a pair of strong, hot hands curled over her upper arms and her body was pulled against a soft but hard chest behind her.

“Breathe,” a voice wrapped in cotton whispered in her ear, and her body did as it was told. “Breathe with me.” Marley slowed her breaths and synced them with the body behind hers until she was breathing normally and sweat glistened on her forehead.

“That’s it; you’re okay,” Jake says – she knows it’s Jake now that her blood wasn’t racing and her senses were coming back to her. This wasn’t the first time they were in this position. Marley was prone to panic attacks throughout high school – whether it was her eating disorder, freaking out over a test, over a solo in Glee; and many times since they’ve reunited in college. Of course, Jake was better now at it (what with his psychology courses), but he always had a knack of calming her down.

“I’m sorry, I’m sorry. I’m  _so_  sorry,” Marley began to mumble, as she always did. It was her nature, to apologize over things that she didn’t need to apologize for. She even apologized for apologizing. Jake pressed a kiss to her temple, thumbs caressing her arms reassuringly.

“You have nothing to apologize for,” he says. His hands slide down her arms soothingly as Marley sags against him. “Let’s sit you down. Get you some water. Then, if you want, you can tell me what happened. Okay?” He pressed another kiss to Marley’s temple at her nod, and then wrapped an arm around her shoulders to lead her back to the lobby of the building.

Once Marley was sat down, Jake’s arm around her and half of the water bottle gone, she sighed. “I-I got jealous.”

Jake, who had been playing with the fingers of Marley’s free hand, stopped in their movement to thread themselves through Marley’s hand. His breath caught in his chest, wrestling with the thoughts running through his head. Marley had gotten jealous and it had sent her into a _panic attack_. And just one look at her face, he knew it was because of that one stupid mistake he would regret all his life. “Marley, I want you to know that I’m serious about this. I have no right to tell you that I promise I won’t do it again, I lost that privilege. But what I can tell you is I never would want to. You’re it for me. I can promise you that. And I was too stupid to realize it back then. But I promise, Marls, there’s nothing you should be jealous of. Bree or anyone, there was never and never will be anyone more important to me than you. But you don’t have to be with me if you don’t want to. I honestly wouldn’t blame you.”

Marley had wrestled with her mind and heart for years. She knew what she wanted. And she knew that Jake had changed in her heart, but that didn’t stop her mind from trying to protect her. “I’m sorry, it was stupid. I know that. I know you wouldn’t—“

Jake cut off her frantic rambling. “Marley, no. Sweetheart, you’re not stupid okay. You have every right to feel this way. I broke your trust, and I know whatever I do will never make that go away. But just know, I only have eyes for you. I promise.”

“I love you,” Marley says after a moment of silence and leans up to kiss his jaw and then when Jake turns his head, she kisses him on the mouth. And she believes him, whole heartedly, even though her mind doesn’t. “And for the record, I want this. Probably why I freaked out,” she chuckled to herself and curled up into his side more to finish her water.

“I love you back.” Jake smiled to himself, wrapping his arm around her tighter. “I’m sorry,” Jake muttered and pressed a kiss to her hair.  

She deserves better than him – and he will keep trying to give her better every day of his life.

She’s way more than he deserves.

**Author's Note:**

> I hope I didn't make Marley too forgiving and this isn't too problematic. I tried writing this as delicately as I could, but I truly believe they can make it work again, and as such this is one of the ways I believe it can work but still be real and true to what happened.


End file.
